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Lombard Odier, Bilan magazine and HEG Fribourg publish the findings of an extensive study into family businesses in French-speaking Switzerland
key takeaways.
The family business has a strong identity in Switzerland, where 90% of companies listed in the Commercial Register are in family ownership
84% of the companies that responded are managed by family members, which is a distinctively Swiss trait
53% of respondents have just two or three people on their boards of directors, despite a shift towards greater professionalism and openness to the outside world
Demographics remains the main reason for the faster pace of transmission from one generation to the next, with 15,000 companies changing hands in Switzerland each year
Just 3% of respondents intend to sell their family business, indicating that keeping the business within the family is a priority and there is little planning for that key step
47% of respondents have a precise idea of their company’s valuation.
The bank Lombard Odier teamed up with Bilan magazine and HEG Fribourg (School of Management Fribourg) to conduct an in-depth study of 245 family businesses in French-speaking Switzerland. The study reveals in particular how family businesses in this region approach passing on the business in the context of generational changes, underlines their resilience in the face of various crises, and highlights the lack of formal governance structures within companies.
Its findings seek to better equip these companies to grasp the challenges and opportunities ahead and were published in editorial form in the 25 September 2024 issue of Bilan. The study reveals various success factors for the families of entrepreneurs and addresses several themes, such as business transmission and succession, the evolution of corporate culture, performance and innovation.
The findings confirm what we observe in our day-to-day activities and will enable us to develop our tailored offering for clients even further
The quantitative survey was conducted by HEG-Fribourg in Summer 2024. It consulted 245 SMEs, representing all the French-speaking cantons of Switzerland and all sizes and ages of companies, which had been family-run for at least two generations. The companies that responded to the 43-question survey were from 23 different sectors of industry, with construction, retail and watch-making the top three. The study also benefited from the involvement of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry for French-speaking Switzerland, bearing testament to the tremendous interest in this joint study.
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Serge Fehr, Limited Partner and Head of the Swiss Domestic Region for Private Clients at Lombard Odier, commented: “As the bank of choice for entrepreneurs and their families, led by Managing Partners who both own and manage the Group, it was a natural fit for us to be part of this extensive study of entrepreneurs in the French-speaking region. The findings confirm what we observe in our day-to-day activities and will enable us to develop our tailored offering for clients even further.”
The study findings can be found at bilan.ch (in French)
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